


Rooms of the Houses

by CorporalLevi_is



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Almost Drowning, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Road Trips, based on an album, rated for language, will add more tags as time goes on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2015-02-16
Packaged: 2018-03-06 07:17:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3125759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorporalLevi_is/pseuds/CorporalLevi_is
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snippets of Levi and Eren's life together.<br/>Indiana's cold and empty, Levi tries to run away as often as possible, what's he supposed to do when a certain brat enters his life and follows him just to bring him home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Scenes From Highways

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, this is so self serving. This work is based off of La Dispute's album Rooms of the House - take a listen, the lyrics are beautiful.  
> Thanks for reading.

"Eren, can you  _frick'n_  drive like you're not trying to  _frick'n_ kill me," I growled at him, emphasizing that I don't always have to fucking curse.

The idiot tightened his grip on the steering wheel to his piece of shit jeep cherokee, a hand me down. He laughed at me,  _prick,_ and pulled the wheel sharply to the right and back again to the left so we'd slide across Highway 41. I grabbed at the handle above my head, grinding my teeth.

"Oh, calm down Levi, there's like no one on the road this late at night," he justified.

"I know two people whose bodies are gonna be all over this damn road if you don't stop sliding around on the ice like a lunatic," i spit at him, "pull over, I'm driving."

Oh great, now he's sulking, his lip juts out and he cries "nuh uh," like a petulant child. I swear the kid loves to bicker back and forth, not just with me, but with everyone, but especially me. I knock my head against the dashboard, maybe he'll catch on that he EXASPERATES me. Probably not though, he's so thick. He hits a icy pothole and my head bounces up and bangs back down especially hard, that's gonna leave a damn red mark, "asshole!" Now he's not fucking laughing.

\- - - - -

We go on many road trips, well they're not really road trips, but I'll get to that. Even and I grew up as neighbours in Terre Haute, Indiana, he'd tell people we were best friends, i would not, but to be fair, he was my only friend. Until I moved a town over and we went to different middle schools, he went to Woodrow Wilson Middle School and I went to the North Clay Middle School - it doesn't matter really, point is, we didn't exactly have a way to talk. My parents didn't care enough to let me phone the '12 year old neighbor that followed you around' anyway.

About a year ago my mother insisted I get a job and start helping around with bills, never mind school and everything I do for this house. Instead of arguing with her I went into our little town and searched out anyone and anywhere hiring 16 year old brats like yours truly. I ran into a woman who recognised me, I never forget a name either, Mrs. Carla Jaegar told me she runs a little shop now, she just put out an ad in the papers for new hires but if I was looking for work she'd gladly take me in but it's obviously in Terre and I'd have to 'trek on over to that neck of the woods,' cute.

The first time I headed out to the shop I realised it was only like a fifteen drive which is funny because as a kid it seemed like we moved so much farther. I suppose when you're no longer  _next door_ neighbors anywhere is really quite far away for a child. I was actually a bit surprised when I found out Mrs. Jaegar, - 'oh please dear, call me Carla,' - sorry, Carla, owned a hardware shop. This was the first time I was seeing Eren since the move four (and one third) years ago and wait...goddamn, that's a nice butt. You wouldn't believe me if I talked about the bright eyes that literally  _sparkled_ at me so maybe I'll just talk about his butt more. No actually, the eyes though, blue, green, no i have no idea, some fucking honey suckle gold, and dear lord they were big and filled with so much life. He was excited to see me, which was weird, but he bounced about and explained that he worked here as well and would show me what to do and such things, so i let him.

There were certain nights at home when me and mother would fight and I just couldn't stick around. So I'd leave, I'd get in my crappy Toyota and drive out of our crappy town, sometimes towards Terre, mostly just any which way. Certain nights me and mother would fight and I'd bare my teeth but I'd stay, it always shook me when the baby would cry though. My mother wouldn't tend to her. Why did I always turn around in the end? I guess I just never found what I was looking for.

There were days I'd wake up and just decide not to show up for work,  _this is fine,_ I'd think and roll over onto my side on my bed. Eren would show up at my door. The nights I'd skip town, Eren would follow me out. These were our little "road trips."

Pretty soon, I started falling for this boy, but I'd deny it.

\- - - - -

I'd deny it, until a year later on our first official road trip. I'd deny that I've fallen for this boy until we'd reached Ohio and it was my turn to drive. I'd deny it until I had my hands on the steering wheel but my eyes on the sleeping boy next to me.

Eren had curled himself up onto the seat the best he could, the right side of his face smooshed up against the cold window. One leg was tucked under him while the other jetted out and pushed off of the dashboard, I suppose as a way to keep himself in the position. How he managed to maintain these uncomfortable postures while sleeping astounded me, "the way you sleep is a mystery."

Eren wanted to go to where it glows, all those places where his watch doesn't work and I want to breathe in the air of all those sprawling ancient spaces on earth. I never thought I'd end up here, all those nights I spent driving alone. When I was driving to hide, or looking for a new life. I didn't think I'd find a life in my old town, back home.

I didn't even imagine I'd get out alive, could I have imagined back than the love I feel now? I look over at Eren again and when I see he's still breathing evenly with eyes closed I smile a bit. I tighten my grip on the wheel and I lean harder around the curves than actually necessary and I swerve around the cracks on the ground and let the wheels glide over the center lines. I guess I can understand why he drives like an ass but now I'm just a psycho laughing to themselves as I make major driving errors.

I know that he meant what he said... he wants to go where it’s frozen, all those places where the highways don’t reach, places where our watches don't work.

I pulled over to the side of the road, it lacked the feel of any and all time, the landscape aglow. Still not sure what we were trying to find, I only know we were going home.

 


	2. First Reactions After Falling through the Ice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah, be advised of drowning in this chapter, if drowning makes you anxious (not that I go into too great of detail) make sure you read at your own risk.

If I'm being honest I know better than this, but how could I turn down a dare from Jean Kirstein.

Currently we could be seen tripping over ourselves on the chunk of ice frozen over Wabash River. 'Let's walk access to the other side,' he said, and when I had replied with a 'fuck off with that nonsense, horserace,' he got all smug and had the audacity to spew out some crap about me being weak. _Me_? Weak? Nah, bro. So here we are, ten feet from the edge of the sweet, caring, dirt covered land. Krista, Ymir, Sasha, Bert, Reiner, and Marco had the sense to chill to the side and after I yelled at them claiming they were trying to melt the ice, they moved they blueprints for a bonfire thirty feet back.

I want to stay mad at Jean but I know he's just trying to get my mind off of Levi. Last month I finally got the nerve to tell him I thought he was hot as all hell, I mean damn I might've even written a speech or something, I didn't but I could've. Before I could even spew out my undying love he admitted he needed to tell me something as well, and proceeded to tell me he's leaving for New York, to attend college there. I squinted my eyes at him like, _seriously man_ , and at this point I couldn't exactly tell him what I went there to say, so I got up and left. Pathetic, i know.

I looked at my cell phone: 23:51 - No New Messages. Slipping it back in my pocket, I kept on trekking across the ice.

"You know, I don't think we've ever done anything as stupid as this," Connie admitted.

I laughed now, "you? Come on Connie, we all know what you and Sasha do for fun."

"Need we remind you of the post office incident?" Jean chimed in, "you almost burnt down the largest historical building in our town."

"And oh God, that poor racoon!"

"'Poor racoon,' what about that kid...what was his name again? Sasha blamed the whole thing on him. Oh yeah, Wagner!" We both burst out into hysterical laughter.

Connie threw his hands up over his head, "I was barely apart of that, Sasha can get crazy, I swear," but his words were lost on us and soon he joined in on our laughing.

We heard a light cracking sound and looked down at the ice, "I think we should head back," I suggested. Before anyone could agree or disagree a louder cracking sound was heard, echoing off the ice and through the night. We looked at each others faces, I can only imagine mine, but Jean and Connie looked absolutely terrified. I gulped than and looked down at the ice once more. A single, large crack ran through the ice with hundreds of pressure cracks  breaking off of it.

"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fuck!" I yelled out, we all stayed stock still.

"We're going to fucking die," Connie bit out which jean backed up with a "no we're not, calm down!" But he didn't sound like he even believed himself.

"Fuck you Kirstein! This is your fucking fault, you just had to be a big man in front of all our friends and your bo-"

"Eff you Jaegar, I was trying to help you out. We're all here,  _for you_ , to get you over that damn midget!"

Connie could be heard chanting "we're going to fucking die, we're going to fucking die..." while Jean and I screamed at each other. If the other's noticed our situation they might just think it's like every other moment me and Jean are together: fighting. Or they have no idea, either way I don't think we would be able to hear them calling out to us with all of us yelling on our end.

Surprisingly enough it was Connie who calmed down first and yelled out, "alright, SHUT UP!" Jean and I stopped abruptly and turned to Connie a bit shocked, "we need to figure this out. They say to even the stress so let's... let's just put our individual pressure on the thicker parts."

"We're about halfway to the middle so let's just get back to everyone," I added on.

Jean looked petrified now but nodded, "yeah, let's all take one big step back on... one... two... THREE!"

At that we all stepped back and held our breath. Thirty seconds of quiet, only the wind could be heard but it felt like hours. I breathed out a sigh of relief and with it the ice under me thawed out completely and...

Black. Cold, no freezing.

I could hear Levi's voice as I fell through, "don't panic," he had said. So I didn't.

First reaction was: this is it.

Should I have grown out my hair? Should I have gone to school? Why do all my plans fall through?

I still have to fix the door hinges for mom. There's a leak in the basement that needs draining. I've got to reglaze those windows.

Darkness, I didn't feel the cold now, just numb.

At the bottom my feet finally touched ground, next thought: just stay calm, kick up, and save your phone. Because I needed to call him, I wanted to tell him...I just thought he should know...how I feel about him. And maybe because it might scare him to see me under the ice, make him remember he cared for me.

_What would you do if I died? Would you even fly home for my funeral? Would you get too drunk at my wake, make a scene, climb into my casket and try to resuscitate me? No... that sounds more like something I'd do._

My legs kicked and kicked until I was getting pulled out, now i was being dragged by my arms away from the hole in the ice, to the edge of the river where it meets land. My clothes are wet, I stumbled over to the fire, I pull off my wet clothes and try to warm up by the flames. I'm sure there was yelling but all i could here was the quiet in the water and a deep voice saying "don't panic."

I was standing naked, checking to see if my phone still worked. Someone must've called an ambulance because soon I was being carted off in one. I suppose it wasn't a good thing that I was blue but I  _am_ breathing, theres no reason to keep me overnight.

Not fully asleep, not fully awake, suffocated by dreams of ceilings collapsing and bodies in the river. Or maybe I'm just still under water. Startling back into consciousness I cough and cough and catching my breath, then I lay still, looking up at the white ceiling.

As I'm packing up to leave the next morning at 07:00 someone enters my room and closes the door behind them. I'd already had to deal with Mikasa's wrath at 01:00 in the damn morning, I don't need to hear it from anyone else. Attempting to ignore them I continue packing - or rummaging through my back because it's not like I had more than two outfits packed.

When it didn't seem like they were leaving anytime soon, I let out a heavy sigh and slowly turned towards the door. My eyes must've blown wide when they saw Levi standing there, waiting, his eyes looked desperate, but then they settled down and he just looked bored, as per usual. I know he'll never do anything so I rush over and wrap my arms around him. His arms stay limp at his side but after I tuck my face into his neck and breath him in just to make sure it's really him, he slowly lifts up his arms and presses back into me.

Once we separate his hand reaches high and smacks down on the crown of my head, I let out a grunt and he chastises, " _what_ the fuck is wrong with you?"

My eyes get foggy and my cheeks feel wet but Levi's face continues to scold me. He shakes his head and a hint of a smile touches the corner of the right side of his lips. He reaches up and wipes away the tears from one side of my face and with his free hand he latches only my t-shirt and plus me the four inches to his eye level.

"Stop making me worry about you, goddamned brat, " his voice thick, "i was only gone for one day for God's sakes."

Before he could let go and push off of me I grabbed the nape of his neck and pulled his lips into mine. We crashed together a little crooked, his teeth hitting mine, Levi tried to pull away but I held fast bringing my other arm around to his lower back. We finally got the hang out it and our tongues moved rhythmically together, it could've even led to something sexy if we weren't both complete spazzes. Our lips fell apart leaving an inch or two between us but I think we were both a little scared to let go of each other, so we didn't.

You would've laughed if you saw us, but we stayed like that for a couple minutes, maybe far more than a couple.

I will grow my hair out. I will go to school. I will never tempt fate. I will never trust ice.


	3. Hudsonville, MI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not completely in love with this chapter, but I really wanted to write it.  
> enjoy

**(Levi's p.o.v.)**

Eren and I adopted our daughter two years ago, Isabel is my little sister but my mother has been officially declared unfit to be an actual mother, since that day we take road trips separately more often than together. It's an especially cold night this march evening up here in the north and we're supposed to have a very bad snow storm, so of course Eren sent us off ahead so we could get home before it gets too bad and he'd be following shortly. We're heading home to Terre Haute, Indiana for the weekend with Eren's family, I haven't seen Carla since we moved up to Hudsonville.

At least since getting on Hwy 196 Isabel's been lulled to sleep from the continuous driving, there's not much traffic considering the impending storm. I'm not sure how bad it's supposed to be, they say it's going to be devastating? But I never trust the weather channels honestly.

By the time Isabel and I arrive home the snows coming down a bit heavily and Carla gets to the door before we can turn off the headlights beckoning us inside, it's 19:00 and the suns been set for hours now, the wind picks up spraying our hair in every direction. I hope Eren's doing alright, the snow should be touching down up there now and we took the pick up truck,  _jeez, he worries about us too much, he should've kept the truck._ He gets out of work at 21:00 and will be driving down shortly after, but I can't help but think that if the snow's getting this bad here will he even be able to get here.

Carla pulls us in to the warm house, I give her a kiss on the cheek, I can smell the coffee maker going and the radio spewing out information on the storm. The wind howls and Grisha turns the radio up louder, Isabel barely knows these people but as a kid she can tell they're welcoming to her, nonetheless she holds fast to my sleeve as i trudge to the bedroom to put our luggage away.

We share light conversation over dinner, Carla made a pot roast and I wait for Eren to call to tell me he's on his way. After dinner I do the dishes, Carla hums, the tea kettle hisses on the stove, steam coming out in a crescendo, Grisha fiddles with the radio, the emergency warnings coming out, wind hitting the house.

Eren still hasn't called, has he even left Hudsonville yet? The weather channel wasn't wrong this time, emergency bulletin warns of terrible traffic accidents and the worsening storm, people trapped in cars, "you and your family are better off underground for the duration of this storm," what does that even mean? So we went underground, took the staircase down to the cellar full of medical equipment. Holding Isabel tight to my chest we read the labels on the mason jars adorning the shelves. Try not to think about my husband in Michigan.

\- - - - - ( **Eren's p.o.v.)**

The wall clock reads 18:00, three more hours and I can head down to meet Levi and Isabel, the snow's already started and the temperature has hit -8 degrees. I guess I'm just being stubborn but I keep at my work under the dark skies, Levi would be watching me from inside the house right now, shaking his head in disapproval. I can't help but smile at the image of my brooding husband who is never pleased with my actions.

I work from home, maintaining and fixing up cars, sometimes I go to the shop, right now would be one of those times that I should go, with the wind whipping at my back and the snow covering my shoulders and hair but I'm almost done and I can head out of here earlier than I thought. Hopefully driving in this crappy weather with our Ford Taurus won't be as absolutely shitty as I expect it to be.

Before I could finish up on the fuel system of Roy's mustang - honestly does anyone even like the crappy 1986 mustangs - I heard a loud crash of thunder. Startling into a sitting position, I hit my head of the drawer of my tool cabinet, "Jesus, I've never even heard of thunder during a snow storm, and it sounds close by." Almost done out here anyway and then I can give Levi a call. Tinkering away the best I can i continue with the car, hearing a few more splashes of thunder and even catching one or two glances at some lightning out of the corner of my eye. In contrast to the snow, it was actually beautiful, so I sat and watched a while.

The lightning that scattered the night sky, the wind bursts that tore up the power lines, sitting at my work bench, I didn't even know at the time that the worst of the storm was touching down in Terre. I hear sirens in the distance and the lights flick off in an instance, so I rush inside, now all the lights are off and this isn't good. I pick up the house phone, there's no dial tone but i type in my mothers number anyway...nothing. Running into the office to check the fuse box, clicking through a few switches, I run back into the hall and flick the light switch down, up, down, up, nothing, "fuck!"

If I can't get in touch with Levi, that big softy is gonna fucking worry, so now I'm leaving my tools astray in the driveway and ignoring the nagging feeling that Levi's gonna be pissed I left such a large mess, I run out to my car and start the engine. If I'm gonna make it down there at all I've got to head out soon.

\- - - - - **(Levi's p.o.v.)**

Remembering those nights when quiet storms rattled against my window frames and I couldn't get through to you, the storm would blow in and rearrange the furniture.

Here we are again. Stay calm, keep the radio turned up loud, wind howls, Grisha piles blankets in the corner by the furnace, Carla lights candles, it's a miracle Isabel doesn't cry.

On the radio is a story of car's piling up on Hwy 94 and I hope Eren had enough common sense to stay home because if he hasn't called yet it means they have no power up there and he won't have any luck on the roads. Car accident after car accident and the cops just arrived on the scene of a man who broke his ankle trying to kick out his windshield.

What if one of these drivers are Eren, I couldn't stand the thought anymore and I pushed Isabel into Carla's arms running to the stairs. Ascending them two at a time and reaching the kitchen in record time. I pick up the receiver of the phone and let out a huff of air when I hear the dial tone, I type in our house's number and wait. Listening to the brrrng's one after another. Nothing. I slam it down and pick it up again, trying once more. And again, and again.

"Shit, mother fucker, he would leave the house, God why doesn't he have any common sense," my mind raced through all sorts of scenarios and I couldn't help but picture him trapped on some bridge, or in the snow somewhere, or worse, in a car accident on the hwy, "fuck!"

There are moment are moments of collapse, there are drivers with their feet on the glass, you can kick but you can't get out.

\- - - - - **(E** **ren's p.o.v.)**

As I pull away from the house I notice the fence by the neighbours shed has split, the kitchen windows start to bend, but I keep driving. Turn the radio loud. The highway's a mess but I can still drive through it, as far as a can tell the only things blocking up the roads are car accidents, according to the radio anyway, I guess we'll find out.

Almost at the end of the 196 the road is completely empty now, not a car in sight, and the street lamps are covered in snow, it's icy now and the temperatures down to -16, I can barely make out the road and my brights aren't doing much for me. But I have to keep going, I have to get to Levi. I have to get to Isabel. I have to get home.

I slam on my breaks at the sight of a car halfway dug into the snow on the side of the road, I only just saw the tail lights peaking out at me. My car didn't stop though, it tried, sliding up a few feet until I turned the wheel and let the piles of snow of the side of the highway persuade her to stop. Pulling my heavy gloves in I jumped out of the car, expecting to find someone just stuck inside their car in the snow.

What I found was much worse. I reeled back at the sight, the nose of the car was buried in 2 feet of snow, it must've spun out and hit against the snow hard. When I say hard, I mean fucking hard, I look towards the barbed wire fence the car was facing to find a woman tangled against it. From the headlights of my car I noticed the hole in the windshield where she must've been flung from. I don't know what to do at first, I don't move, the wind it slashing the skin on my face but I'm stuck to the ground.

What is this? What's wrong with me? Go you fucking bastard, MOVE. Why can't I move? Remembering my own encounter with ice and this harsh weather I tense up even more. Fuck I have to help. Slapping my cheeks, I let out a pained scream and push myself forward, reaching the woman I look at her more closely.

"Oh, fuck, no. Please, hey lady," I reach my hand forward and cradle her face in my hand, "are you alive? ...Please please please answer me." I pull off my glove and tug at her eyelid so I can look at her eyes. I check for a pulse but my hand is too cold to feed anything, just numbness. "Ma'am, please, open your eyes."

I wrap my arms around her to pull her off the fence, the sleeves of my jacket rip and I can feel it pierce my skin but only barely. I can't tug her free at this angle, so I dig my body into the fence more to get a better grip, the skin where my neck meets me jaw scratches open, but I don't feel the blood spilling out. I pull her off the fence and pull her over to my car. Fuck, I know this isn't what you're supposed to do, but I have no fucking choice, this is all I can do. I lay her down in the back seat of my car and turn the heat to full blast.

I don't have anything for her wounds and goddammit, you're not even supposed to move someone with a head wound, but I have no other options, fuck! I throw my jacket over her and get in the drivers seat, I've got to get her to the nearest hospital. The drive is unbearable and the woman isn't moving in the backseat.

I think it can't get any worse until I get to 94 and we run into car after car after car, stuck in the snow, and they are all abandoned. "No, absolutely not, what the fuck am I supposed to do with this?" At this point we can't turn around because the snows just gotten higher behind us.

I hear the woman behind me stir and try to sit up, I whip around in my seat, "please don't move!" I try to explain the situation as best I can, telling her the best I could do was wipe the blood off her face but now I've fucking failed and we're completely stuck.

"My underpants feel wet..." she whispers.

"It's not uncommon to wet yourself in an accident as severe as that," I inform her, but now her face is pained and she sits up harshly, "Ma'am, please-"

"No...no, no, no, please, oh God, no, please," she looks up at me with pleading eyes, "I'm pregnant... It's blood."

My eyes must've blown wide, all I could do is look at her, terrified, "fuck." I put the car in park and climbed out, walking around the car and moving the passenger seat forward, I then climbed into the back with her by her legs, "if we want to help the baby we have to make sure you're okay first. My father is a doctor, sorry but the best I can offer is the knowledge I learned from watching him and reading his books."

Tears streaked down her face, but she nodded, I was grateful for her calm demeanour and all I could think about was how I'm so grateful Levi and Isabel aren't here, how they got into Terre earlier and how I might die tonight, frozen to death but they're gonna be okay and I'm _going_ to help this woman because somewhere she has a husband waiting for her and their unborn baby.

I asked her to remove as many layers as possible and it cost me my favourite shirt torn into ribbons to patch her head up and a gash on her arm. I asked her a few questions to deduce if she has a concussion or not. As far as I can tell she didn't have one but could very well develop one and regardless of what I say she still hit her head extremely hard. My hands are shaking and I'm disappointed in myself because I don't have much to offer the woman, but I ask her name and offer her some water. She says her name is Lisa.

I work up the courage to ask her if she'd let me take a look at the blood in her underpants, explaining that I don't know anything about anything but maybe it's just a cut. Lisa was reluctant and she seemed to shed more tears, I could tell she was absolutely terrified. Who wants to trust some random 20 something man with no idea what he's doing to do something like...like  _this?_

She looked away for a moment in thought and then looked me, with tight breathes she agreed. I let her undress herself and as I looked I noticed it was only a light amount of blood, I let out a sigh of relief, but since there are no cuts surrounding her vagina so I have to assume it's from inside.

I didn't have the courage to go any further than that, I don't know anything about vagina's anyway, and I mean I  _really_ don't know anything about them.

"It looks like it's only lightly bleeding so we can assume the baby hasn't been...hasn't been," choking the the harsh words i finally finish, "miscarried."

She starts to sob again and I take a deep breath, it trembles as I release it, "oh God, what do we do? Oh God, Jesus, Oh God."

"I'm going to find us help, no one's coming to help us, I need to go find someone." Lisa tried to argue with me but I assured her it was the only thing possible, I gave her my name and told her to let the car's heat run until it ran out of gas, than to cover up with as many layers as possible. Fuck, hopefully I won't be gone that long.

\- - - - -  **(Levi's p.o.v.)**

It was the hardest night I've had since running into Eren again eight years ago. Isabel cried in my arms and all I could do to console her was to tell her Eren would be here in the morning. But now it's the morning and Eren's not here and he hasn't called, and oh God, he's probably dead somewhere on highway 94. He probably didn't even get out of Hudsonville.

The storm passed by around 4 in the morning and we could finally move back upstairs and out of the cellar. Grisha, Carla, and Isabel went to bed, but I sat on the floor in the kitchen the rest of the night. Watching the phone, waiting for it to ring, stuck with my thoughts.

The radio continued to buzz until it died around 06:20, news of the storm passing, thunder  _and_ snow in Michigan, - I've never even fucking heard of that, - some news on the bigger accidents. Hell there was even a helicopter sent out to a car stuck on Hwy 94 with a pregnant woman in it, apparently the young husband trekked through the snow to get help while she waited in the car. There were two casualties of the storm but neither were a young man driving a Ford Taurus, so I could hold out a little longer.

 Carla and Grisha came out of their rooms around eight, they asked if I heard anything but I replied no and asked for new batteries, they didn't have any, as I expected. We shuffled around quietly as to not wake Isabel but mostly we just waited, none of us were hungry.

The phone rang a few times from 08:40 - 10:00 but it was just out of state family checking on the Jaeger's, I had jumped up so fast I almost knocked Carla over, grabbing her forearm to steady her, I ended up apologising a few times, but I didn't give up. And when the phone rang once more at 10:06 I reached for the phone and yelled "hello," into it so hard I could've scared off the caller, Carla watched me expectantly and my heart just about stopped when I heard the voice on the other end.

"Hey Levi," Eren's voice shaking, I could hear him crying through the line.

"Eren," now I could feel tears fall from my own eyes and Carla broke out into a smile ("oh, thank God"), "you fucking idiot," I choked out.

"Oh God, Levi, Jesus, fuck, the baby... the baby, she's fine, the woman and the baby, they lived. Fuck I'm so happy, and you and Isabel are okay, oh God, thank you."

I tried to cut him off several times, "the baby...what baby...Eren, what are you talking about," but he didn't hear me through all his sobbing.

He continued with I love you's and I miss you's and I need you's. Eren told me about his night with this woman and how he almost got frost bite, he told me he's the "young husband" the radio was talking about and how he just wants to come home.

It was the longest two days I've ever spent without Eren. When I finally hung up with him, Carla looked to me with a small smile on her lips, "i swear when you heard it was his voice, I saw lightning in your eyes."

Stay calm, keep the radio loud, stay down, sirens in the distance, wind howling, stay calm. After dinner do the dishes, mother hums, metal gets twisted. Coffee, terre Haute, stay calm, keep down, the tea kettle hisses. There are moments of collapse.


End file.
